This story is a continuation of —> Part 1, covering 2010-2014, available here.

2015: Record Rainfall

Hermine, Matthew, Irma, Florence, Michael, Dorian – it’s become a challenge to keep straight all the tropical systems that have threatened South Carolina in recent years. But the record rainfall event of October 2015, which preceded all of them, has left perhaps the greatest imprint on South Carolina’s consciousness. Nineteen South Carolinians lost their lives in a deluge that lasted for days, breaching dams across the state and dumping a record 24 inches in Mount Pleasant. More than half of the state’s counties were declared federal disaster areas, and the torrential rains coursing through the state’s river systems produced a freshwater plume that extended an astonishing 18 miles offshore. In the year following, biologists were relieved to see few lasting effects on coastal marine life – a testament to the resilience of healthy, intact salt marshes – but the human costs resonate even today.

2016: Restoring Beaufort County’s Cobia

The 2016 passage of legislation to help rebuild the cobia population in Beaufort County represented the culmination of many years of science and angler advocacy. Cobia are beautiful, shark-like fish that enter our southern rivers and sounds each spring to spawn – triggering a fishing phenomenon that has persisted for generations as anglers crowd the Broad River to target the large fish from small boats. SCDNR biologists spent over a decade working to understand the biology, ecology, and genetics of this fish, discovering in the process that the cobia found in South Carolina each May are a unique group that spawns nowhere else. When cobia numbers dwindled through the early 2010s and eventually showed signs of imminent collapse, the angling community stepped up to support stronger measures to help this cherished fish recover.

2017: Sea Cow Salvage Operations

Manatees are warm weather visitors to South Carolina, but complications can arise when the federally protected animals find pockets of warm water and fail to migrate south in late fall, as has happened several times in recent years in the Charleston area. In 2017, experts from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Sea World completed their largest rescue operation in South Carolina to date, safely capturing and relocating ten adult animals to warmer waters in Florida. Researchers have begun satellite tracking some of these errant manatees to learn more about their migratory patterns, which may be changing as warm coastal waters extend farther north. SCDNR biologists welcome your reports of healthy manatees online.

2018: Empty Nesters at Crab Bank

For many years, a spit of land at the mouth of Shem Creek offered countless Charlestonians and visitors a close view of the vibrant, noisy spectacle that is a seabird nesting colony. Unfortunately, Crab Bank’s location along a shipping channel also subjected it to heavy wave action from boat traffic, which, combined with repeated tropical storms, began eroding the island at a rapid pace. In 2018, biologists marked the first summer in recent memory that no birds were able to nest on Crab Bank. But that’s not the end of Crab Bank’s story. In the same year, conservation-minded individuals, students, nonprofits, government agencies, and businesses banded together to raise an enormous sum of money to restore Crab Bank using material from a Charleston Harbor dredging project. Completion is still years away, but wildlife lovers across the state can look forward to the eventual return of Crab Bank’s birds.

2019: Sea Turtle Nesting & Oyster Shell Recycling Records

The decade ended on a particularly positive note for two of our coastal projects. First, SCDNR’s sea turtle biologists and volunteers recorded the highest number of sea turtle nests on South Carolina beaches since the program started in 1977. This year’s ~8,800 nests shattered the five-year average of 4334 nests and yielded ~522,000 hatchlings into our ocean. The federal Loggerhead Recovery Plan has a goal of 9,200 nests for South Carolina (among other measures), which means loggerheads are inching closer to recovery. Second, SCDNR’s oyster shell recycling program, which uses donated shell to rebuild the state’s oyster reefs and keep shellfish thriving, celebrated a record 34,000 bushels of oyster shells recycled. That makes the program one of the top in the nation, although South Carolinians still only recycle a fraction of the oysters they consume. (Writing and reporting contributions made by Emma Berry.)